Anyone replace a speedo cable? It's for a friend's '87 Camaro... the owner says he's had speedo cables break before, and the Camaro's speedometer is acting like the other cars. It looks like a simple enough job... I've undone the cable before at the trans, but never at the cluster. Does the book really show it as it is? As in, the cable goes thru a grommet in the firewall and straight back to the speedometer? Do I need to re-use the original grommet, or will there be a new one affixed to the new cable?

And what kind of lube is acceptable for the new cable? Can I use synthetic chassis lube, or is there something special I should buy from the dealer?

Thanks!

 

That's basically it.

You do have to remove the instrument cluster, to unclip the cable from the back; or actually do some work, by lying on your back and trying to reach up there to do it, which is a real PITA. It takes about 5 minutes to get the cluster out of one of these cars. The 10 or 12 Torx screws that hold on the bezel, then 2 nuts (IIRC 10mm) in the bottom corners of the cluster among the light bulb cavities, then pull it out as far as it will come and reach around behind and push in the clip and pull out the cable.

Usually all you have to do is lube them when they get noisy. Try pulling the center out once the cluster is out, lube it with white lithium, and put it back. That almost always fixes them as long as the cable hasn't worn through.

 

Thanks for the info! The only white lithium I've seen is in a spray can.. is there a tube or can of the stuff, or is the spray enough?

 

You can get it in a tub, like wheel bearing grease, in fact you can use it as wheel bearing grease.

 

I have a 87 Camaro ,and I had to fix the speedometer cable. Mine was a two piece cable. One cable ran from the tranny ,the other from the cluster panel ,and they screwed together right below the master cylinder. I went to a junk yard ,and found the cable that went to tranny. Sure was glad I didnt have to mess with taken off the dash.

 

Thanks RB, I'll go pick up a tub. (ha)

ChevyO3, really? Thanks for the info; I'll have to check his car out one of these days when it's not snowing or raining. (You can tell I'm really excited about doing the job, eh? )

 

o3 is referring to a car with cruise control. The thing where the 2 halves of the cable plug into is the cruise regulator. If you have cruise, the regulator itself can cause the same symptoms. And also, you can remove the core of the lower cable by unscrewing it from the cruise and pulling it out; you have to do the dash thing to get at the upper cable. While you have the cables off of it you can turn the cruise by hand and make sure it's OK. If it's not, time for a trip to the boneyard. Lots of 80s GM cars have the same one. Just make sure you get one that has Resume & Accel if your car's cruise has them.

 

Thanks for the clarification- a two piece cable didn't sound quite right! His car does have cruise control, too. Hm. If it is the speedo cable, could it only be one half? Maybe I'll get lucky, and the half from the regulator to the trans is bad!

 

Yes my car did come with cruise control. The cruise control was removed before I got it. I failed to note that in my previous post.
Anyway if your car also has cruise ,you will have the same setup as mine. All the previous owner of my car did was bypass the cruise regulator ,and screw the two cables together.If your cable has a broken end thats on the tranny end ,you can do what I did ,and go to the boneyard to find one. Parts store around here couldnt match lower half of cable. Auto Zone lol. Hope this clarifys.

 

Well, it's done! Okay; it's only done halfway.

SpeedO3, I was wrong- his car doesn't have cruise control. But, it's got a 2 piece cable! I found that out when I pulled the speedo cable out and only got a 2 foot section. I thought I snapped the cable until I looked at the end. Someone was inside that dash before; half the screws were loose, and a screw for the gauge's plastic cover was missing.

I couldn't break free the joint (below the master cylinder), so I just lubed the short cable. The owner got a tube of Napa "Sil-Glyde" from a friend, on the back, it said it was recommended for speedometers. I used the stuff to lube it (ran the cable thru a glob of silicone in my hand as I twisted/pushed it back into the sheath), and like you said, RB, it seems to have fixed the jerkiness. I never lubed the second piece, but as of last night, the speedo was smooth again.

I'm definately going to lube my speedo cable this spring; I've got over 2x as much miles as his '87 Camaro has. I thought that little jerking of the speedo was how my car was supposed to be!

Thanks guys! Oh, and RB83L69, you were right. The dashboard nuts were 10mm. For anyone else that finds this message thru a search, they're not real nuts, they're a stamped shell that "bites" into plastic, not a steel stud.